Benjamin S. Kelsey
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Benjamin Scovill Kelsey (March 9, 1906 – March 3, 1981) was an American
aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...
and
test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...
. Serving as America's chief fighter projects officer, he helped bring success in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
to the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
by initiating the manufacture of innovative
fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield ...
designs, and by working to quickly increase American fighter production to meet the needs of the coming war. Kelsey co-authored the technical specifications which led to the development of the P-39 Airacobra and the
P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive ...
. He worked around Air Corps strictures to initiate the development of
drop tank In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...
s for American fighters. Kelsey was the driving force behind a program of advanced airfoil research which eventually resulted in the
P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
. After the war, Kelsey served in various staff assignments supervising weather operations, personnel and materiel. He was an important committee member of the group that approved and funded the rocket-powered
North American X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
.


Early career

Benjamin S. Kelsey was born in
Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...
in 1906, and was raised there. At the age of 15 he completed a flying course with the Curtiss Flying Service at
Garden City, New York Garden City is a village located on Long Island in Nassau County New York. It is the Greater Garden City area's anchor community. The population was 23,272 at the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Garden City is primarily located within ...
. He graduated from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...
(MIT) with a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree in
mechanical engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, ...
in June 1928, and stayed to teach and conduct research work in the aeronautics department. With fellow
aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...
student Everard M. Lester, Kelsey wrote "''A Study in Cams as Applied to the Main Driving Member in Reciprocating Engines''". Kelsey flew extensively for commercial concerns as well as privately, and obtained a transport pilot license. He joined the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
and was commissioned a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...
on May 2, 1929. At
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territory ...
, he worked with the Guggenheim Fog Flying Laboratory. As stipulated by
Harry Guggenheim Harry Frank Guggenheim (August 23, 1890 – January 22, 1971) was an American businessman, diplomat, publisher, philanthropist, aviator, and horseman. Early life He was born August 23, 1890, in West End, New Jersey. He was the second son of Flo ...
, Kelsey flew as Lieutenant
Jimmy Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...
's safety pilot during the first fully 'blind'
instrument flight In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fl ...
on September 24, 1929, showing observers that he was not in control by keeping his hands visible outside the cockpit. The following year he graduated from Primary and Advanced Flying Schools, and in 1931 he obtained his
Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...
degree in aeronautical engineering at MIT. Assigned with the
20th Pursuit Group The 20th Operations Group (20 OG) is the flying component of the 20th Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Force Air Combat Command. It is stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is a successor organization of the 20th ...
at Mather Field and later at
Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places * Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Barksdale Air Forc ...
, he served in various tactical unit duties.


Fighter development

In 1934, Kelsey was transferred to Materiel Command at
Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Lo ...
near
Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...
and served as fighter project officer in the Engineering Section. In this role he was the only person responsible for Air Corps fighter development, and was kept busy with inquiries and proposals from aircraft manufacturers. Kelsey continued to research blind landing techniques and develop instrument flying practices and hardware. On October 1, 1934 he was promoted to
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...
.


Allison V-1710

Kelsey stayed current with efforts by
Allison Engine Company The Allison Engine Company was an American aircraft engine manufacturer. Shortly after the death of James Allison in 1929 the company was purchased by the Fisher brothers. Fisher sold the company to General Motors, which owned it for most of it ...
to create a liquid-cooled engine suitable for fighters—such engines were seen as offering the possibility of greater speed and higher altitude than air-cooled engines. In late 1936 to early 1937, Kelsey flight-tested the 12-cylinder Allison V-1710-C6 as installed in the experimental
Consolidated XA-11A The Consolidated P-30 (PB-2) was a 1930s United States two-seat fighter aircraft. An attack version called the A-11 was also built, along with two Y1P-25 prototypes and YP-27, Y1P-28, and XP-33 proposals. The P-30 is significant for being the fi ...
, reaching an altitude of 26,400 ft without turbo-supercharging.''The Dispatch'', Volume 22, Number 1, Spring, 1997. "The Heart of the Cobra: Development of the Allison V-1710 Engine", Randy Wilson
''Allison Press Release on the Certification of its V-1710 Engine by the Air Corps''.
Retrieved on March 30, 2009.
The V-1710 passed difficult Air Corps endurance and reliability tests, and demonstrated a smooth, predictable power curve. Kelsey would subsequently base important fighter specifications on engines of this series. As Project Officer for Fighters, Kelsey tested a great number of aircraft models, possibly flying more new types of US fighters than any other pilot. He was first to fly the
Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...
twin-Allison XFM-1 Airacuda prototype on September 1, 1937.


P-39 Airacobra

Kelsey became frustrated by inflexible Air Corps restrictions on pursuit (fighter) aircraft which limited the weight of all guns and ammunition to 500 lbs. He wished for at least of armament so that American fighters could dominate their battles. With Lieutenant
Gordon P. Saville Gordon Philip Saville (September 14, 1902 – January 31, 1984). Retrieved on November 19, 2009. was a United States Air Force major general who was the top authority on US air defense from 1940 to 1951. Blunt and direct in manner, Saville had be ...
, Kelsey formulated two new high-altitude fighter specifications in February 1937; one for a single-engine fighter and one for a twin-engine fighter. In Circular Proposal X-608 and X-609, the two men employed the word "interceptor" which had not yet been applied to American military aircraft specifications. In this way, they bypassed the Air Corps limitations. Despite the new term, the proposed aircraft were not fundamentally different in role than traditional pursuit aircraft—just heavier and more powerful. Kelsey specified Allison V-1710 engines with
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
turbo-supercharger In an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger (often called a turbo) is a forced induction device that is powered by the flow of exhaust gases. It uses this energy to compress the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to pr ...
s and
tricycle landing gear Tricycle gear is a type of aircraft undercarriage, or ''landing gear'', arranged in a tricycle fashion. The tricycle arrangement has a single nose wheel in the front, and two or more main wheels slightly aft of the center of gravity. Tricycle ...
in both proposals, aiming for performance, long range, the ability to climb to in six minutes, and very heavy armament including a cannon. Bell Aircraft won the single-engine X-609 contract with their design of the P-39 Airacobra. After the prototype flew, Kelsey was called to England, and handed oversight of the project off to colleagues who, in keeping with advice from the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
(NACA), ordered the removal of turbo-superchargers from the aircraft. The P-39 was from that point forward unable to compete in the European Theater against high-altitude German fighters. In Soviet hands, however, the Airacobra excelled in air-to-air combat at low and medium altitudes, racking up the highest individual pilot scores for any American-made fighter type, higher than any other American fighter aircraft ever made.


P-38 Lightning

Lockheed won the X-608 proposal with their twin-engine Model 22 design, signing a contract with the Air Corps in June 1937. Kelsey flew the first prototype of the
P-38 Lightning The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is an American single-seat, twin piston-engined fighter aircraft that was used during World War II. Developed for the United States Army Air Corps by the Lockheed Corporation, the P-38 incorporated a distinctive ...
, the XP-38, on January 27, 1939. After Lockheed performed a series of tests and associated engineering adjustments, Kelsey took the prototype across the country on a record-breaking speed flight in February 1939. Just short of his goal, as he was directed into the landing pattern at Mitchel Field behind three slow trainer aircraft, his prototype's carburetors iced up and the engines would not respond—they continued to idle and would not increase in power. Without the ability to add power, Kelsey fell short of the runway and belly-landed into a sand trap at a golf course, destroying the plane but suffering only minor scratches himself. General
Henry "Hap" Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Air For ...
was very happy with the speed demonstration and ordered Kelsey to proceed with further development of the design. In May, Kelsey was promoted to the rank of captain. The P-38 ended up being the "sweetheart of Kelsey's flying career", according to author Jeff Ethell.
Confederate Air Force The Commemorative Air Force (CAF), formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, is an American non-profit organization based in Dallas, Texas, that preserves and shows historical aircraft at airshows, primarily in the U.S. and Canada. The CAF h ...
. ''The Dispatch'', Volume 18, Number 1, Spring, 1993. Jeff Ethell
"Lightning From the Ground Up: Lockheed's P-38 Lightning"
Retrieved on March 30, 2009.
Kelsey stayed in close contact with the twin-engine fighter during every phase of its development and implementation. As part of Operation Bolero, the first-ever delivery of fighter aircraft flying under their own power from the US to the UK, Kelsey piloted a P-38 to the UK in late July 1942. After meeting with British airmen and reviewing the newest developments of air combat, Kelsey returned the US by ship. On April 9, 1943, Kelsey performed a flight test on a modified P-38G to see if Lockheed's newly developed dive flap could be engaged after terminal velocity was reached in a dive. After climbing to 35,000 ft, Kelsey initiated a dive. At maximum speed, he pulled the lever to engage the new flaps but nothing happened. Pulling harder, the handle came off in his hand. Kelsey applied full rudder and aileron at the same time, and suddenly the aircraft lost one wing and the whole tail, and entered an inverted flat spin. Kelsey bailed out and suffered a broken ankle upon landing. The P-38 crashed upside down into a hillside near
Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish ''calabazas'' " gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica and Santa Susanna mountains.P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...
has been credited to Kelsey's dogged determination to see the project to completion. He formulated the specifications for the
Curtiss XP-46 The Curtiss XP-46 was a 1940s American prototype fighter aircraft. It was a development of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation in an effort to introduce the best features found in European fighter aircraft in 1939 into a fighter aircraft which could s ...
and placed an order for two prototypes in September 1939, hoping that the advanced aircraft would replace the
P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and ...
which had not demonstrated above-average fighting qualities. Production of the new design was canceled by General
Henry "Hap" Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American General officers in the United States, general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army and later, General of the Air For ...
as it was anticipated that a four-month delay in Curtiss fighter deliveries would be incurred by the radical change. Kelsey's boss, Colonel
Oliver P. Echols Oliver Patton Echols (March 4, 1892 – May 15, 1954) was an American military officer who brought success in World War II to the United States Army Air Forces by expanding the inventory of America's air arm to meet the needs of the coming war. ...
, shopped the design to the Anglo-French Purchasing Commission who were told to find an aircraft manufacturer that wasn't busy with war production. Echols and Kelsey made it understood that the NACA airflow research data collected on the XP-46 would be made available to the new manufacturer.
North American Aviation North American Aviation (NAA) was a major American aerospace manufacturer that designed and built several notable aircraft and spacecraft. Its products included: the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the ...
(NAA) expressed interest and was sold the NACA data for $56,000. They produced a new design, the NA-73, which was approved by the British who christened the fighter "Mustang". Echols and Kelsey arranged to get two prototypes out of the British contract, and, on July 7, 1941, even before the prototypes arrived at Wright Field, Kelsey ordered 150 P-51s from NAA. Nine months later Kelsey ordered 500 nearly identical
A-36 Apache The North American A-36 (listed in some sources as "Apache" or "Invader", but generally called Mustang) was the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectan ...
models that he was able to purchase with funds intended for attack bombers. In this manner Kelsey kept the assembly line busy, so that the factory would be primed to make Mustang fighters once a new contract could be arranged. After the US declared war in December 1941, thousands of military aircraft were ordered, and NAA ramped up for Mustang production. Once the Mustang was in combat in the
European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
(ETO), Kelsey was able to collect pilot's opinions of the aircraft as well as going out on combat missions himself to determine whether improvements could be made to the design. Kelsey clarified and expedited the communication of battlefield requests back to the NAA production team such that the turnaround time of modifications was minimized.


France and Britain

From May to July 1940 Kelsey was sent as assistant military attache for air to Europe to assess the technical progress of German, French and British fighter aircraft. Kelsey traveled to France with Colonel Carl "Tooey" Spaatz, Lieutenant Colonel Frank O'D. "Monk" Hunter and Major
George C. Kenney George Churchill Kenney (August 6, 1889 – August 9, 1977) was a United States Army general during World War II. He is best known as the commander of the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA), a position he held between Au ...
to witness firsthand how France's defenses were insufficient. (Each of these men later attained the rank of general.) Kelsey and the group of American airmen saw that self-sealing fuel tanks were critical in air combat. As well, fighters appeared to require bullet-proof windscreens and better oxygen systems. After passing through Paris, Spaatz and Kelsey flew back to London on May 31. In England, Kelsey determined that the threat posed to Allied convoys by German air and naval power meant that an aerial ferry route should be established over the North Atlantic so that long-range aircraft could be flown to the United Kingdom rather than shipped. Kelsey spent a month touring British airfields, air groups and aircraft manufacturing facilities, receiving excellent cooperation from
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
(RAF) personnel. While Spaatz and Hunter remained in England, Kelsey helped a group of war refugees travel to the United States, returning himself to Wright Field as chief of the Pursuit Branch in the Production Engineering Section. In March 1941, Kelsey was promoted to major (temporary).


Spitfire evaluation

In April 1941, the RAF sent two Spitfire Mark VA fighters to Dayton for testing. The variant used a pressurized cockpit for high-altitude pilot comfort—the pilot would not have to wear an oxygen mask. Kelsey ferried one of the aircraft to and from
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
so that it could be examined further at a California facility. Because of the Spitfire's inherent range limitations, Kelsey was forced to make a number of refueling stops at little-used air fields. Kelsey noted engine overheating during taxiing and brake fade on long desert runways in the presence of significant crosswind. He found long cross-country flight very tiring due to the Spitfire's marginal stability (which gave it high maneuverability in combat.) Kelsey felt that the highly lauded fighter would not have been approved for purchase in the United States where requirements included long range.


Drop tanks

In November 1941, Kelsey asked his Lockheed contacts to design
drop tank In aviation, a drop tank (external tank, wing tank or belly tank) is used to describe auxiliary fuel tanks externally carried by aircraft. A drop tank is expendable and often capable of being jettisoned. External tanks are commonplace on modern ...
s to extend the range of the P-38, even though Air Corps policy at the time was absolutely inflexible toward fighter aircraft carrying external fuel tanks—the so-called Bomber Mafia favoring
heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...
s wanted no challenge from fighters and
medium bomber A medium bomber is a military bomber Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft designed to operate with medium-sized Aerial bomb, bombloads over medium Range (aeronautics), range distances; the name serves to distinguish this type from larger heavy bombe ...
s in the long-range department. Lockheed proceeded with the request, starting with a batch of 100 P-38Es intended for photo reconnaissance, despite having no written orders, only Kelsey's handshake. Thus, when combat requirements called for longer range via drop tanks, the P-38 was already equipped with fuel lines, hardpoints, and a supply of drop tanks. One famous example of these drop tanks was in Operation Vengeance, April 1943, when P-38Gs needed extra range to intercept and kill Admiral
Isoroku Yamamoto was a Marshal Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II until he was killed. Yamamoto held several important posts in the IJN, and undertook many of its changes and reor ...
.


North Atlantic ferry operation

In January 1942, a month after the United States declared war, Kelsey was promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel. In the spring of 1942 Kelsey was attached to the
VIII Fighter Command The VIII Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit of command above the wings and below the numbered air force. Its primary mission was command of fighter operations within the Eighth Air Force. In the World War II European The ...
at
Dow Field Bangor Air National Guard Base is a United States Air National Guard base. Created in 1927 as the commercial Godfrey Field, the airfield was taken over by the U.S. Army just before World War II and renamed Godfrey Army Airfield and later Dow Ar ...
near
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...
to assist in preparing for trans-Atlantic ferry flights in support of Operation Bolero. As an acting colonel, Kelsey was assigned to the
14th Fighter Group 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 The Pirna 014 was an axial turbojet designed in East Germany (or the GDR) in the mid- to late 1950s by former Junkers engineers, who were repatriat ...
for the purpose of flying one of the group's fighters and for making sure preparations were sufficient. In July, with the call sign Shoe Black 7, he flew a P-38F in the first ferry flight of fighters across the North Atlantic to England. Returning to the States in September 1942, he resumed his former position as chief of the Pursuit Branch, and the following July he was named chief of the Flight Research Branch, Flight Test Division. Going to England in November 1943, Kelsey was deputy chief of staff of the
IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, wheret was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fighter ...
, and the following February he was appointed chief of the Operation Engineering Section of the Eighth Air Force Headquarters. In February 1945 he was assigned to the Materiel Division at Air Corps Headquarters.


Staff roles

After Germany surrendered, Kelsey was assigned to the Materiel Command at Wright Field as chief of the All-Weather Operations Section. He reverted to the permanent rank of major in 1946, and from December 1946 to January 1948 he served successively as assistant deputy commanding general for personnel; deputy commanding general for personnel, and chief of personnel and administration. Returning to Air Force Headquarters in February 1948, Kelsey was chief of the Control Group in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Materiel. Kelsey attained the permanent rank of colonel in April. Entering the National War College in August 1948, he graduated the following June and remained there as an instructor. In June 1952 he was appointed Deputy Director of Research and Development in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Development at Air Force Headquarters, and was promoted to brigadier general in September.


X-15

In October 1954, Kelsey was a key member of the Research Airplane Committee which underwrote the
North American X-15 The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set spee ...
. The committee, headed by Hugh Dryden, evaluated the proposed Mach 7 hypersonic aircraft design which aimed to reach altitudes of 300,000 ft. On the committee, Kelsey was sole representative for the Air Force, Dryden represented NACA, and two rear admirals represented the Navy. Dryden convinced the committee to move ahead with the project even though it was not clear there would be any military value gained from it. Kelsey brought to the project the extensive support of the
Air Force Flight Test Center The Air Force Test Center (AFTC) is a development and test organization of the United States Air Force. It conducts research, development, test, and evaluation of aerospace systems from concept to deployment. It has test flown every aircraft in ...
, and began to shop the proposal around the industry. He invited 12 aviation contractors with prior fighter aircraft experience to bid on the project: Bell, Boeing, Chance-Vought, Consolidated (Convair), Douglas, Grumman, Lockheed, Martin, McDonnell, NAA, Northrop and Republic. Nine of these showed up to Kelsey's bidder conference in January 1955 where they were informed of late-1954 NACA wind tunnel research data collected at Langley Research Center. Five more companies dropped out before the May 9, 1955 submission deadline, but Bell, Douglas, North American and Republic responded with designs. The Douglas and NAA designs were ranked the highest, with slightly more interest expressed in the more expensive NAA concept which did not use standard alloys and thus would provide additional research information if implemented. Kelsey, Dryden and the committee awarded NAA the contract on September 30, 1955 even though the company was at capacity designing the
XB-70 Valkyrie The North American Aviation XB-70 Valkyrie was the prototype version of the planned B-70 nuclear-armed, deep-penetration supersonic strategic bomber for the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command. Designed in the late 1950s by North Ame ...
and
F-107 The North American F-107 is North American Aviation's entry in a United States Air Force tactical fighter-bomber design competition of the 1950s. The F-107 was based on the F-100 Super Sabre, but included many innovations and radical design ...
. Kelsey reverted to his permanent rank of colonel December 30, 1955 and retired from active duty the following day.


Personal life

Kelsey married Caryl Rathje and they had three sons: Benjamin Jr., Peter and David. Kelsey continued to fly after retirement. He owned a
Cessna 190 The Cessna 190 and 195 Businessliner are a family of light single radial engine powered, conventional landing gear equipped, general aviation aircraft which were manufactured by Cessna between 1947 and 1954.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ...
and worked to restore a
Pitts Special The Pitts Special (company designations S-1 and S-2) is a series of light aerobatic biplanes designed by Curtis Pitts. It has accumulated many competition wins since its first flight in 1944. The Pitts biplanes dominated world ae ...
. Kelsey wrote about aeronautical subjects and gave lectures. In 1959, he was honored by MIT with the Jerome C. Hunsaker Visiting Professor of Aerospace Systems award. In carrying out the duties of the award, Kelsey appeared in March 1960 at MIT, the
University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
and in Los Angeles to give a talk about the factors which determine the optimum size of aircraft. The engineering lecture was published in 1960. In September 1977, Kelsey was invited to participate in a 50th anniversary symposium celebrating the P-38 Lightning, organized by Lockheed veterans.
Tony LeVier Anthony W. LeVier (February 14, 1913 – February 6, 1998) was an American air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s. Early life Born Anthony Puck in Duluth, Minnesota, his father died while he was still ...
, Kelly Johnson and some Lightning aces shared a panel discussion with him, and Kelsey participated in interviews recalling the history of fighter development in World War II.


''The Dragon's Teeth?''

As the occupant of the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum, Kelsey wrote an overview of American aircraft development before and during World War II. The research was conducted in 1979 and 1980. Kelsey died of cancer at age 74 on March 3, 1981 at his home in
Stevensburg, Virginia Stevensburg is a small rural unincorporated community located at the intersection of Route 3 and Route 663 in Culpeper County, Virginia, United States. Stevensburg is about 6.9 miles east of Culpeper. Stevensburg's ZIP code is 22741. The pos ...
. ''The Dragon's Teeth?: The Creation of United States Air Power for World War II'' was published posthumously by the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
in 1982. In ''The Dragon's Teeth?'', Kelsey observed that, for proper defense, a nation must maintain a "force in being", the same concept as '
fleet in being In naval warfare, a "fleet in being" is a naval force that extends a controlling influence without ever leaving port. Were the fleet to leave port and face the enemy, it might lose in battle and no longer influence the enemy's actions, but while ...
' but applied to the entire military of a nation at peace. He predicted that "Specific measures to counter a specific threat will almost guarantee that if an emergency occurs it will be in a different place and of a different nature." Instead of trying to solve every military challenge in advance, Kelsey wrote that a nation must save its money and keep a core of military engineering and manufacturing industries alive by giving them enough business so that they don't disappear. In response to an attack, these industries could quickly expand to meet the challenge. Kelsey compared this careful husbanding of the potential for war-making effort with the myth of Cadmus, a Phoenician prince who supposedly sowed dragon's teeth in the ground to create an instant army.


Recognition

Kelsey was awarded: *
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...
* Legion of Merit * Distinguished Flying Cross *
Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...
with two oak leaf clusters *French Croix de guerre *Belgian Croix de guerre (''Oorlogskruis'') *
Octave Chanute Award The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. (AIAA) established the Octave Chanute Award named after Octave Chanute. Pilot(s) or test personnel that contributed to the advancement of the art, science, or technology of aeronautics r ...
(1944) from the
Institute of Aeronautical Sciences The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of t ...
for contributions to high speed flight testing.


Effective dates of promotion

*First lieutenant (permanent) October 1, 1934 *Captain (permanent) May 2, 1939 *Major (temporary) March 15, 1941 *Lieutenant colonel (temporary) January 5, 1942 *Colonel (temporary) March 1, 1942 *Major (permanent) May 2, 1946 *Colonel (permanent) April 2, 1948 *Brigadier general (temporary) September 5, 1952 *Reverted to permanent rank of colonel December 30, 1955.


See also

* Ben Rich


References


Notes


Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelsey, Benjamin S. 1906 births 1981 deaths People from Waterbury, Connecticut MIT School of Engineering alumni National War College alumni Aerial warfare pioneers Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Air Force generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Date of birth unknown Deaths from cancer in Virginia American test pilots United States Army Air Forces officers United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II Recipients of the Air Medal Aviators from Connecticut American aviation record holders